Thread: colorbond Vs polycarbonate pergola roofing

Ozzierog

The transference of heat by any polycarbonate product is incredible and you would find in the summertime you would not be able to sit under it and in the winter sun it would still be very uncomfortable. If you do a search in the forums you will find a chart that I have posted about the the amount of heat radiated by the various types of polycarbonate and fibreglass translucent sheets.

The best Lysaght Colorbond sheet for heat is Flatdek.

Oz, There has been big advances in polycarbonate roofing in the last few years with dual layer construction and metallic heat reflecting polymers.

To choose the best product you have to know the Shading Co-efficient (SC) and the Light Transmission (LT) for the products.


I would look at Laserlite (Bayer) their XPT range have very good SC & LT ratings and good heat reflecting qualities.

There is also another imported product that has a 3 layer construction that is supposed to be very good (but expensive).

Speak to your local roofing supplier and get a brochure so you can compare the ratings. As Barry says a colorBond will always be cooler but if you need the light then its worth investigating the new polycarbonates.

G'Day OzzieRog,
One problem I have seen, and had; is that some Birds start to
Remove the Stray Fibres as they get exposed after time;
in the Sunlight UV.

They do this to Roofing
and the Polycarbonate Electrical J-Boxes - This was in Gove NT.

I've seen Translucent roofing with NO Fibres,
perhaps this is what you refer to?????

hi ivan

i would have to disagree with barry .

last year i got a large 30m2 dome patio installed out the back. i would never use colourbond for a patio roof as personally i think it looks cheap and tacky and it blocks out all the natural light ,which can be a big issue if your house is quite dark to begin with and the patio will be covering a door or window .

i went for a heat stop poly cab and the colour was called ice it is translusent but not transparent , and it is not hot to sit under in a 30 degree day . one issue i am worried about is that i have a tree that over hangs part of the patio so that some lefts fall on the patio roof and in the old days i remember poly cab getting stained by rotting leaves .

Also there is a new product that has two rows of trapped air cells in it that is supposed to be the best at letting the light through but not the heat .it looks great to but it is very expensive .

rob

one thing i did to improve the air flow was to have to have the patio higher than standard hieght .

Originally Posted by jags

hi ivan

i would have to disagree with barry .

last year i got a large 30m2 dome patio installed out the back. i would never use colourbond for a patio roof as personally i think it looks cheap and tacky and it blocks out all the natural light ,which can be a big issue if your house is quite dark to begin with and the patio will be covering a door or window .

i went for a heat stop poly cab and the colour was called ice it is translusent but not transparent , and it is not hot to sit under in a 30 degree day . one issue i am worried about is that i have a tree that over hangs part of the patio so that some lefts fall on the patio roof and in the old days i remember poly cab getting stained by rotting leaves .

Also there is a new product that has two rows of trapped air cells in it that is supposed to be the best at letting the light through but not the heat .it looks great to but it is very expensive .

rob

one thing i did to improve the air flow was to have to have the patio higher than standard hieght .

Well what would I know with over 30 years in the building trade 11 years with Lysaght selling both Colorbond, Translucent sheet and Polycarbonate, time with Spanline Home Improvements designing Glass Rooms, Screen Rooms and Patio Roofs helping customers removing polycarbonate roofs because it is too hot and replacing it with Colorbond.

As far as the Polycarbonate with two rows of trapped air cells it has been around for over 15 years and I can take you to a roof in a shopping arcade with it on the roof in Armidale NSW and you can't stay in there for any longer than about 10 minutes on a sunny day in the middle of winter dressed in winter clothes.

I have found over the years that people that have put polycarbonate up put up with it for quite a while rather than admit they made a mistake in using it.

Like you say it is a problem with leaves, dust and dirt settling on it and it eventually looks really crappy sitting underneath looking up and cursing the day you ever used it.

As far as light goes it is better to put in a couple of Solartubes and only Solartubes as they are the best allowing more light to come into the room.

You can now buy in Western Australia the best Patio Roof material available in Australia and that is Spanline products available here. http://www.spanline.com.au/asp/index...cid=5281&gid=1
They only thing with it it is expensive but the best is always the most expensive.

Rather than Polycarbonate or Colorbond I would suggest an insulated roof on a patio if possible. No only do you have the advantage of being able to sit under it on a hot day, you don't get condensation under it possibly dripping off in winter.
I wish I had used it on my deck roof instead of Colorbond which gets uncomfortably hot. NO way I would use Polycarbonate for all the above reasons!

I agree with Barry.

People cover their entire pergolas with Laserlite etc only to find the heat becomes an issue especially if its a flat roof with no through air flow. I have seen steeper pitched polycarbonate covered roofs with ceiling fans installed to try and move the hot air. Someone mentioned Laserlite XPT, but from my experience sales staff at Stratco usually say its too dear and no one buys it.

I have done a few pergola re-roofs and used mostly colourbond (with off-white on the underside to give better light reflection) and the odd translucent opal Laserlite sheet over doors and windows.

Originally Posted by David L

Rather than Polycarbonate or Colorbond I would suggest an insulated roof on a patio if possible. No only do you have the advantage of being able to sit under it on a hot day, you don't get condensation under it possibly dripping off in winter.
I wish I had used it on my deck roof instead of Colorbond which gets uncomfortably hot. NO way I would use Polycarbonate for all the above reasons!

David

The insulated roofs are great the only thing you have to be careful about is some of the companies making have had problems of delaminating with the glue holding the foam to the roof material failing from the contraction and expansion with the heat and the cold.

No way I'd be putting up a polycarb roof on a pergola in Adelaide . I'd think that teh purpose would be to escape the heat from a poorly designed house in the middle of summer. With the number of close to 40 deg days that you've had recently I'd be thinking that you could throw out the webber with a hood like that. If it's light you need in the house adjacent to the pergola look at strip or two near the door

On say saying that I had a very comfortable one with the opal translucent PC in Bendigo but it was high and open on three sides (two being the longer sides) and designed to catch the southerly breezes.

good luck

well barry sorry for having a opinion ,

But you with all your year of knowledge must agree that each product has it's pros and cons .And that the application to which each product is applied will depends on it's success .

hence the reason people ask for advice ..

i thought this forum was to help people that where asking the questions not to bag the people that are trying to help..

rob

Re polycarbonate roofs

The biggest disapointment for these are the clear ones -which were hugely popular about 10 yrs ago, and I have seen plenty of them ripped out since, but these days most of the polycarbonate I see is the ice or opal colour whcih transmits about 50% light, 50% heat. Now anybody expecting a product so well labelled with its heat reflectivity and expects something different deserves any disapointment..

However, when you compare it to colorbond, its about the same as any of the dark colours in colorbond, only 10 to 20% worse than shale grey, and a about a 30% gap to off white. Given most people will match to their existing roof, the question of whats better comes down to the indivdual situation, though clear should only be considered very carefully.

With correct selection, and due thought, either product is suitable, and both are unsuitable without thought and selection. I for one would spend 5 times as much time inside a house than under a verandah, so light levels inside are an enormously important consideration, and given I dont sit outside in the heat of the day, the lighting transmittance is more important than shade.

FWIW, I'm just about to install a 1.5m window eave with opal poly on top, with opal acrylic panel on the underside, which should give me about 25% light, and slightly better shading

Originally Posted by jags

i thought this forum was to help people that where asking the questions not to bag the people that are trying to help..

I don't think that he's bagging anyone here, he's just offering his opinion which is very experienced and very valid.
However it is also a bit one-eyed (no offense Barry).

Here's a picture of the pergola that I installed about two years ago now:



And here's a picture of the skylights that I installed in the adjoining family room:



There's a huge deciduous liquid amber tree (over 15 metres I'd say) that constantly drops leaves and nuts on it. It's classed as a noxious weed so I don't need approval to remove it and I'm thinking of doing just that when I grow some bigger cajones.
On some summer days it gets very hot in the back room because of the skylights (which @ 1200 are over spanned for laserlite ), but the deck doesn't get all that hot comparatively (That would have a lot to do with the shade that the tree provides mind you). If there's any breeze, then when I open the bifold doors completely, plus the windows and doors in the house then it provides pretty good ventilation. On the few very hot days of the year I'd stay in the lounge room where it's noticeably cooler having a high pitched roof over the ceiling.

Having said that, I'm not so sure that I want to get rid of the tree (even though it's playing havoc with my footings). It provides nice shade for the deck in summer, and it's nice to look at, especially through the roof and skylights at night when it's lit by a spotlight.
I know that the clear roofing will look rather tired before too long but I don't mind too much. It's not that much trouble to get up and sweep it off with my extension broom and a bucket of water.

I'm not about to 'admit that I've made a mistake' because I love the room and deck exactly the way it is. It's a lovely bright room that brings the outside in as much as possible, and it's a great warm, cosy, and bright place to sit on a sunny winters day when it's cold outside.

Horses for courses Bazza. Put up your steel shutters on your windows to keep your house extra cool in summer if you want, but if you want natural light in your house, then you have to trade it off with the heat that you're getting along with it. Unless of course you spend extra on double glazing, reflective films etc.

Originally Posted by Barry_White

I have found over the years that people that have put polycarbonate up put up with it for quite a while rather than admit they made a mistake in using it.

I agree with you Bazza.

I roofed the BBQ area with polycarbonate and it let through way too much heat and light in the summer.

After a few years of putting up with it I covered the polycarbonate with heavy duty shade cloth and this has worked well together with 2 ceiling fans.

If I was to do it again I would use colour bond, insulate and line the ceiling.


Peter

Well come July next year all these arguments will be mute because all extensions have to meet BASIX and no way is a polycarbonate or translucent sheet going to meet the requirements without insulation under it.

Rob I was only stating my opinion it was you that said you disagreed with me and I am sorry if you took it personally and we can agree to disagree. Certainly as others have said the type of construction can have a bearing on the result.

The problem is when companies sell a product they only tell you the good things about their product. It is the unsuspecting that have to find out the faults with it after living with it. The problem is when they start to add reflective elements to the product it cuts down on the light transmission.

Like I said Solartubes are the best option for daylight in the daytime and at night you are going to have to turn on your low emission fluorescents anyway.